Sole press



Oct. 29, 1935. e. A. MUSSELLS SOLE PRESS Filed June 2, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l InvenTot George AlMussells &M ATTys Oct. 29, 1935. ss s 2,018,684

SOLE PRES S Filed June 2, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.3.

I4 0 \S E- 5 i v 1'. i I nVenTOT. g GeorgeA.MusseHs 7 3S 3 7 5 2 S ATTyS.

Patented Oct. 29, 1935 SOLE PRESS George A. Mussells, Reading, Mass.

Application June 2, 1932, Serial No. 614,907

16 Claims.

This invention relates to sole presses such as are used in cementing soles to the bottom of shoes and particuiarly to sole presses of this type in which the sole-pressing member is in the form of a sheet of elastic material which is supported only at its edges and against which the sole is pressed to cause the desired pressure to be applied thereto.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel sole press of this type which is specially designed for use in cementing soles to shoes that are built with a high shank portion, such for instance as shoes of the type most commonly worn at present by ladies.

Shoes of this type not only have a high shank portion but the sole at the shank portion is usually narrow and somewhat rounded. While a flat sheet of elastic material makes a suitable bed for applying pressure to the fore part of the sole yet this form of bed is not satisfactory for use in cementing the narrow shank portion of the sole to the shoe bottom partly because of its narrowness and partly because of the rounded nature of the sole at this point. Accordingly in my present invention I have provided a sole press which is formed with a stretched sheet of elastic material for applying pressure to the fore part of the sole and a bowed or U-shaped member of elastic material for applying pressure to the shank portion of the sole.

Further in cementing soles to shoes of this type it is desirable that the pressure should first be applied to the shank portion of the sole and subsequently to the fore part portion and my improved sole press is constructed so that when the shoe is placed in the press and subjected to pressure the initial pressure will be brought against the shank portion of the sole and subsequently the desired pressure will be applied to the fore part of the sole.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. l is a view of a sole press embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line Z-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. l but showing the sole subjected to pressure;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bed member against which the sole is pressed;

Fig. 5 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-45, Fig. l;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1, Fig. 3.

'The sole press herein illustrated is of that type which comprises a skeleton frame open at the center and a sole-pressing element of elastic material extending across the frame and against which the sole is pressed for the sole-cementing operation.

In the drawings 5 indicates a skeleton frame which is open at the center as shown at 2. The skeleton frame is formed with the side portions 10 5 and with the front and rear ends connecting the side portions. 3 indicates a sheet of rubber or other elastic material which extends transversely across the opening 2 from one side 5 to the other of the frame and which is designed to 15 receive the fore part of the sole. This sheet 3 of elastic material is firmly secured at its side and front edges to the frame l and will preferably be normally stretched somewhat. Said member 3 may be secured to the frame in various ways. 20 As herein shown said member extends through the slots 4 formed in the sides 5 of the frame l, and the edges of the member 3 are secured to the sides 5 by means of clamping plates 6 vwhich are screwed to the sides 5 of the frame I, said 25 clamping plates clamping the edges l of the elastic bed 3 firmly to the sides of the frame. This elastic bed 3 is preferably stretched somewhat when it is secured in place so that it is normally under more or less tension.

For applying presssure to the shank portion l3 of the sole H I have provided a bed member 8 which will also preferably be made of rubber or other suitable elastic material and which also extends from one side 5 of the frame to the other. 35 This bed member 8 is normally formed with a concavely-curved sole-receiving surface 9 and such surface will preferably be not only concavely curved in a direction transversely to the frame but will be convexly curved in the direction of the length of the frame as shown best in Fig. 1. This bed member 8 will preferably be of much thicker and heavier material than the member 3 and it is secured to the sides 5 of the frame in any suitable or usual way. As herein 45 shown the ends i l of the bed member 8 are clamped to the sides of the frame by means of clamping plates l5 which are screwed to the frame.

In cementing the sole' H to the shoe [0 the 50 contacting surfaces of the sole and shoe will be coated with the cement and the sole will then be placed in position on the shoe. The shoe is then pressed against the bed members 8 and 3 by some suitable means, in performing which operation 55 the bed member 8 will first contact with the shank portion I3 of the sole and will apply pressure thereto and subsequently the fore part I2 of the sole will be brought against the member 3.

Any approved means may be employed for thus pressing the shoe against the elastic bed. As herein shown I have provided a jack member having a head portion I6 provided with a jack pin I1 adapted to enter the usual recess formed in the heel portion of the last I8 and also provided with a toe rest portion I9 adapted to engage the toe portion of the shoe. This head I6 is carried by a tube 20 which is slidably mounted on a guiding member 2|. A toggle joint device is employed for forcing the tubular member 20 and the head I6 downwardly, such toggle joint device comprising a link member 22 pivoted at one end to the tubular member 20 as shown at 23 and at the other end to an arm 24 of an L-shaped lever 25 as shown at 26. The lever 25 is pivoted at 21 to a collar 28 fast on the post 2 I'.

Fig. 1 shows the parts in raised position with the jack I 6 engaging the shoe and with the shoe simply resting lightly on the bed 8. When the handle 25 is swung downwardly the toggle lever consisting of the two parts 22, 24 will be straightened thus forcing the tube 20 downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 3 and pressing the sole of the shoe firmly against the elastic bed.

The post 2| is shown as pivotally mounted so that it can be swung about a horizontal axis. For this purpose the upper end of the post is secured to a hub 29 which is mounted to turn on a supporting member 30. In using the device the post H with the jack raised may be swung forwardly and the shoe with the sole in position is then applied to the jack. The post is then swung back into the position shown in Fig. 1, in

which position the shoe will be over the bed ready' to be pressed against the bed. As the shoe is pressed against the bed the shank portion of the sole will first engage the member 8 which normally has a concave upper face approximately fitting the shape of the shank portion I3 of the sole. The member 8 is preferably spaced above the member 3 so that when the shoe is positioned to bring the shank portion I 3 against the member 8 as shown in Fig. 3 the forepart I2 of the sole will still be spaced somewhat from the member 3.

As the handle 25 is swung downwardly to straighten the toggle the pressure will be applied first to the shank portion I3 of the sole through the member 8 which is being stretched during this operation and after the shoe has been lowered to a certain point then the fore part I2 engages the member 3 and as the shoe continues to be forced downwardly the member 3 will become stretched and will apply a pressure to the sole.

In applying pressure to the shank portion l3 of the sole it is desirable that the pressure should not only be applied on the bottom surface of the shank portion but also around the edges because of the rounding character of the shank portion of the sole. 7

When the shoe is fully depressed as shown in Fig. 3 the member 8 through which pressure is applied to the shank portion of the shoe will have a loop formation as shown in Fig. 7 with the result that since the sole is engaged in the U of the loop the pressure will be applied to the shank portion of the sole not only on the bottom face but at the edges and thus the shank portion of the sole will be firmly and correctly applied to the shoe bottom. The fore part I2 of the sole,

however, is pressed against the stretched member 3 and while said fore part is sunk into the member somewhat as shown in Fig. 3 yet the pressure will be more in the nature of a force pressing against the sole in a direction perpendicular to 5 the face thereof and. the loop effect which is found at the shank of the sole does not exist.

In order to provide for better applying the pressure to the side edges of the shank portion I3 of the sole I propose to make the opening in 10 the frame I somewhat narrower at the point where it is spanned by the member 8 than at the remaining points where it is spanned by the member 3. This is shown best in Fig. 2 wherein the side walls of the frame are thickened somelo what as indicated at 3 I, which will result in giving the member 8 a more decided U shape when it is applying pressure to the shoe as shown in Figs. 3 and 7.

Because of the greater transverse dimension 20 of the opening in the frame which is spanned by the member 3 the portion 32 of the member 3 which is between the edge of the sole and the edge of the frame will be only slightly inclined to the horizontal when the shoe is fully depressed as 25 compared with the portion 33 of the member 8. Thus while sufiicient pressure is applied to the edge of the sole at the fore part to ensure the sole adhering to the shoe bottom yet the pressure is not such as to curl the edge of the sole. 30

It will be observed that in this device the bed against which the shoe bottom is pressed comprises a plurality of sections of elastic material extending transversely across the opening in the frame from one side to the other and these sec- 85 tions are so designed as to localize the pressure at the points where the pressure is most desired. Furthermore, these different sections of the bed are normally of different tension, the section 3 being normally under tension while the section a 8 is normally free from tension and said sections are furthermore of different thicknesses and hence provide different degrees of resistances to being stretched. Furthermore, the member 8 which applies pressure to the shank portion of 45' the sole is normally at a higher level than the member 3 which applies pressure 'to the fore part of the sole so that when the sole-cementing operation is being performed the pressure is first applied to the shank portion of the sole and $0 subsequently to the fore part of the sole. This is an advantage because the diflicult portion of the sole to cement properly to the shoe bottom is the shank portion especially in shoes having a narrow and high shank and by applying pressure first to this shank portion the latter is firmly seated against the shoe bottom in correct position before the pressure is applied to the fore part of the sole and the result will be a sole which is caused to adhere correctly to the shoe bottom 00 throughout its entire extent.

The cradle shape of the member 8 when the shoe sole is pressed thereagainst serves to hold the shank portion of the sole properly positioned on the shoe and prevents the sole from twisting 5. with the result that the fore part I2 of the sole will be maintained in its proper position relative to the shoe bottom until pressure is applied to said fore part. The member 8 therefore constitutes a shoe-positioning member which assists the operator to place the shoe in correct position on the bed and which also serves to position the shoe correctly if the operator initially places the shoe on the bed slightly out of position.

It will be noted that the rear edge of the memher 3 is unsupported and underlies the front edge of the member 8, these two members thus having a slightly overlapping relation. The reason for this is to ensure that a proper pressure will be applied to all parts of the sole of the shoe.

In cementing soles to some shoes the cement is used only at the fore part and shank portion of the sole and the heel portion 34 is tacked to the shoe bottom. In making other shoes the sole is cemented to the shoe bottom throughout its entire extent. If a shoe of the latter type is being made then I proposerto employ a third pressing member 35 also of rubber or other elastic material which spans the opening 2 in the frame at the heel portion and which results in applying pressure to the heel portion of the sole when the shoe is depressed into the frame as shown in Fig. 3. If a shoe is being made wherein the heel portion 34 of the sole is simply tacked to the shoe then the member 35 is not necessary.

I claim:

l. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame open at the center and having side portions and rear and front ends, a plurality of separate elastic sole-pressing members spanning the opening through the frame and against which the shoe sole may be pressed all of said members extending from one side portion to the other and transversely of the length of the shoe being operated on and some of said members being normally under greater tension than the other members.

2. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame open at the center and having side portions and front and rear ends, a plurality of separate elastic sole-pressing members spanning the opening through the frame and against which the shoe sole may be pressed, all of said members extending from one side portion to the other and transversely of the length of the shoe being operated on and some of said members being thicker and having greater resistance to stretching than the other members.

3. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame, a plurality of elastic sole-pressing members spanning the opening in the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the shank portion of the sole and said member being located above the other members and having normally a concave sole-receiving surface, and means to press the shoe with the sole applied thereto against said members.

4. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame having two side portions and front and rear ends, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame and extending from one side portion to the other, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the sole and another to the shank part of the sole, the rear edge of the first-named member underlying the front edge of the last-named member and the first-named member being normally under tension and the last-named member being normally free from tension.

5. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the sole and another to the shank part of the sole, the former member being normally under tension and the latter member being normally free from tension and having a concave sole-receiving surface.

6. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame, a

plurality of sole-pressingmembers in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the sole and another to the shank part of the; sole, 5

the former member being normally under tension and the latter member being normally free from tension and having a concave sole-receiving surface situated above the normally-stretched member. 1 7. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame open at the center, a plurality of separate elastic sole-pressing members spanning the opening through the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the 15 sole and the other adapted to apply pressure to the shank portion of the sole, said latter member being concave in a direction transversely of the sole and convex in a direction longitudinally of the sole. 2 0

8. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame, a plurality of solepressing members in the'form of sheets of elastic material spamiing the opening in the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the 25 sole and another to the shank part of the sole, the rear edge of the member which applies pressure to the fore part of the'sole being unsupported and underlying the front edge of the other member. 30*

9. A sole press comprising a'skeleton frame, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the fore part of the sole and 35 another to the shank part of the sole, the latter member being thicker than the former member and having a sole-receiving face which is concave transversely of the sole and convex longitudinally of the sole. 40

10. A shoe press comprising a skeleton frame having side portions and front and rear ends, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame and all extending from one side 5 portion to the other, means to press a shoe sole against said members, one of said members adapted to apply pressure to the shank portion of the sole, and another member to the fore part of the sole, the first-named member being situ- 60 ated above and spaced from the last-named member, whereby during the sole-pressing operation the pressure is first applied to the shank of the sole and subsequently to the fore part of the sole.

11. A shoe press comprising a skeleton frame having side portions and front and rear ends, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame and all extending from one side por- 60 tion to the other, means to press a shoe sole against said members, one of said members adapted to apply pressure to the shank portion of the sole, and another member to the fore part of the sole, the first-named member being situated 68 above and spaced from the last-named member, and the rear edge of said last-named member being unsupported and underlying the front edge of the first-named member, whereby during the sole-pressing operation the pressure is first 70 applied to the shank of the sole and subsequently to the fore part of the sole.

12. A shoe press comprising a skeleton frame having side portions and front and rear ends, a

plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the open in the frame and all extending from one side portion to the other, means to press a shoe sole against said members, one of said members being adapted to apply pressure to the shank portion of the sole, and another member to the fore part of the sole, the first-named member being situated above and spaced from the last-named member, the shank-pressing member being normally free of tension and situated above and spaced from the other member, said other member being normally under tension and having its rear edge unsupported and underlying the front edge of the shank-pressing member.

13. A shoe press comprising a skeleton frame, a plurality of sole-pressing members in the form of sheets of elastic material spanning the opening in the frame and all extending across said opening in the same direction, means to press a shoe sole against said members, the adjacent marginal portions 01' adjacent sheets having an overlapping relation with respect to each other, and the portion of any member which spans the opening being unsupported except by the underlying marginal portion of an adjacent member, whereby when the shoe is pressed against the sheets the edges of the sheet are supported and reinforced by the overlapping portion of the adjacent sheet.

14. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame open at the center and having side portions and rear and front ends, a plurality of separate elastic sole-pressing members extending from one side portion to the other of the frame and spanning the opening therein and against which the shoe sole from the heel to the toe portion may be pressed, the member against which the fore part of the sole is pressed being normally under greater tension than the member against which the shank of the sole is pressed.

15. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame openrat the center and having side portions and rear and front ends, a plurality of separate elastic sole-pressing members extending from one side portion to the other of the frame an-dspanning the opening therein, and against which the shoe sole from the heel to the toe portion may be pressed, the member against which the shank of the sole is pressed being thicker and having greater resistance to stretching than the member against which the fore part of the sole is pressed.

16. A sole press comprising a skeleton frame, a plurality of elastic sole-pressing members spanning the opening in the frame and extending transversely of the length of the shoe being operated on and means. to press the shoe with a sole applied thereto against said members, one of said members having a cradle shape and initially located above the other of said members and constituting a shoe-positioning member by which the shoe is positioned as pressure is applied thereto.

GEORGE A. MUSSELLS. 

